Music Ramblings
Vince Tracy
Names in Lights
I got my inspiration for this
article from the death of Rudy
Pompilli, who died on 5th
February 1976. As he was a
non-smoker it’s sad to see he
might have died from passive
smoking which is similar to
the fate that befell Roy Castle
in the UK. With Bill Haley and
his Comets, he had the 1955
UK & US No.1 single with
‘Rock Around The Clock’ and
Pompilli released one solo
album, Rudy’s Rock: The Sax
That Changed the World. He
got me thinking about the
successful careers of the
frontmen in showbiz who might
have got nowhere without the
aid of these unsung heroes.
The sax is a wonderful
instrument and I remember
such strong sax influences
as the hits by Duane Eddy.
He was a great guitarist and I
had no idea who was his sax
player. Do I take the easy way
out and just gloss over this fact
26
or shall I google it? There’s
another dilemma. Do I need
a capital G or is the verb now
to google. To google or not to
google that was the question!
Duane Eddy’s wife has
apparently verified that he had
various sax players with such
names as Jim Horn, Steve
Douglas and Plas Johnson.
Probably these were great
careers but not really known to
the masses.
Sometimes the backing group
would thrive on their own as
did The Shadows with and
without Cliff Richard. The
Tornados managed their hit
without Heinz as a frontman.
If you google that one you’ll
end up with cans of beans
on your screen remembering
that Beanz Meanz Heinz.
Incidentally, Heinz did play
bass with the Tornados and
the Tornados had backed Billy
Fury and John Leyton on a
tour in 1962 when they did
not even have their own spot
as they were not well-known
before Telstar.
I was reading about Heinz
and was saddened to read he
had died in March 2000 after
being confined to a wheelchair
through Motor Neurone
Disease. He was 57 years old
and his last performance was
given from his wheelchair in a
social club in Hampshire.
Following the cycle of life I
conclude by looking again to
Rudy Pompilli. He was loyal
to Bill Haley staying with him
for 19 years. Within a few
months of joining the Comets
he became the band’s most
visible member after the
Originally from Birkenhead,
Vince began work at
a local hospital radio
station before joining
BBC Radio Merseyside.
Significantly influenced by
Radio Caroline as well as
great entertainers such
as Morecambe & Wise,
Tommy Cooper, The Two
Ronnies and DJs such as
Jimmy Young and Steve
Wright, Vince has chatted
with hundreds of celebrities
- musicians/actors/sports
stars/politicians. His website
lists many of them. Listen
to his daily blog/podcasts
at http://www.vincetracy.
com/blog9 or to view his
website go to http://www.
vincetracy.com
charismatic owner of the kiss
curl, Bill Haley. He was named
The Sax Player of the year in
1957 by Down Beat magazine.
His cousin Al Pompilli had also
played with the Comets. I’m
sure you will know many good
guitarists and singers whose
names do not trip off the
tongue but you will know class
when you see it. You probably
guessed I liked the music of
Bill Haley and the Comets!